The Try Guys Drabbles Ft Hurt Eugene Lee Yang
by suzzzzzz19
Summary: Random Try Guys stories featuring Eugene in spots of exhaustion, hurt, injury, emotional turmoil, etc because I am a fiend for these things. Please enjoy! ((sorry I forgot to update here, I have an account on AO3 as well which I am better at updating due to the app being on my phone, thanks and enjoy!))
1. Chapter 1

This is a try guys fanfic. There aren't a lot of these around and I really love Eugene (who doesn't) as well as the other try guys, so I decided to try and begin a story about my love 3. I am a fiend when it comes to Hurt/Fluff stories so prepare for much of that… This is probably gunna start out as random drabbles and may change into an actual set of stories. This doesn't have any slash in it, but I do kinda like Zach and Eugene…. So we'll see where that goes. Thanks for reading / reviewing 3 3 3

This first one is based off that video of Eugene sleeping from Keith's story where he explained he hadn't slept in two weeks because of VidCon planning. (also I know he left buzzfeed a while ago but idk what his apartment is like / where else he would be working so it's going to take place there im sorry). The Try Guys think Eugene pushes himself too hard (he does poor baby).

 **Pushing the Limits (1/2)**

Eugene awoke with a painful headache. A hangover, he thought, but then immediately retracted that prediction as he found himself with a stiff neck in a chair. Rubbing his neck, he opened his eyes and looked around. Eugene was sitting at his desk in the BuzzFeed office and there was no one else present. Glancing at the clock which read 2:35am, he groaned. He moved his mouse to resume what had been keeping him here so late, the Try Guys ongoing project for VidCon.

As a perfectionist, Eugene seemed to always obtain the brunt of the work because he wanted so desperately to have everything be perfect and precise. The other Try Guys worried about this at the beginning of their relationship three years ago, but they learned to just let him do his thing, as it was better for everyone.

Rubbing his face, he decided to get back to work, there simply weren't enough hours in the day for the man to properly sleep, and he may as well use the time wisely. Deciding to stretch his legs, Eugene stood and walked through the empty ghost town of an office towards where the coffee machine was located. While the coffee was brewing, Eugene glanced into his reflection and groaned. The dark circles that are commonly present on the man's face are deeper and darker than ever. His hair is disheveled, sticking up all over the place, and his hoodie seems to hang off of his frame more than it usually did. His mom would kill him, she already thought he was too skinny, and now he looked much skinnier. Though it didn't bother him, he thought he could stand to lose a few pounds, and since he'd been too busy to eat, he'd been on an accidental diet.

Eugene was finally back at his desk, coffee in hand, headphones on blasting obnoxious music to keep him awake, he typed away at his work. By 4:45, the coffee began losing its affect, but Eugene pushed on, might as well just stay up for the rest of the day, besides, it was now Wednesday, he had work, it's not like he could skip. The pounding in his head had intensified tenfold since he'd woken up hours ago.

When he finally finished his pot of coffee, Eugene decided to go on a walk before work. He needed more coffee and didn't feel patient enough to wait for the slow machine to do its thing. Now it was around 7:00 and people generally began showing up at 8:00, so he had an hour to kill. He walked out of the building and down the road. The slightly chilled morning air felt good, it seemed to ease his headache slightly, but his light hoodie did little to keep him warm.

When he finally arrived at the coffee shop, Eugene was dead on his feet. He robotically ordered and waited for his coffee with a few extra shots of espresso. It began to rain when he walked outside, an uncommon occurrence for LA in June, and by the time he was back to the office Eugene was soaked to the bone and shivering. He supposed he must look like a wet dog. When he reached his desk, the other Try Guys, as well as most of the office, had arrived, and he went unnoticed, sitting down at his desk, wet, cold, and tired, trying to come up with more ideas and organize. It was not until around 11:00 that anyone acknowledged him.

Zach Kornfeld had been so immersed in his work that he didn't notice that one of his friends had been miserable next to him for the past three hours. Granted, they were all busy trying to get everything sorted for their big performance coming up, but letting his friend suffer for that long without noticing was inexcusable. When Eugene had walked in earlier, he hadn't looked up to greet him because he knew Eugene was not the biggest fan of talking in the morning. When Zach had finally glanced up from his computer to look out the window, three hours had flown by and he was now met with quite the sight. He was met with the shivering mess that was Eugene.

His hair, usually styled perfectly, was crazy all over his head. His clothing seemed to be soaked, and he was wearing the same outfit as the day before, indicating he must've not gone home last night. Though they'd all pulled all-nighters at the office before (except for Ned it seemed, always wanting to get home to his wife) Eugene seemed to be doing these more and more. As Zach continued analyzing his friend, he saw the deep circles under his eyes and how pale his usually tan complexion had gone. It also looked as though he'd lost weight, everything he wore seemed baggier than usual. Zach swore at himself for not noticing and glanced behind him at Ned and Keith to see if they'd noticed anything either. The two of them were distracted as ever, typing away working on different projects. "I can handle Eugene by myself" Zach thought, "and if I can't, I'm sure those two will take a break to help".

Eugene felt himself drifting off as his screen blurred in front of him. It was only 11:00, how would he make it the rest of the day. Suddenly Eugene was startled by a tap on his shoulder and he whipped around to see Zach retracting his hand with surprise on his face. Eugene sighed and removed his headphones.

"What's up Zach?"

Eugene's voice came out tired and scratchy. This caught Ned and Keith's attention too as they swiveled around quickly to look at their friend. Zach glanced at them, discovering the same looks of realization on their faces as he was sure he'd just had as well. Zach turned back to Eugene and sighed, this was the drama he was trying to avoid by just having him speak to Eugene. The man was notoriously known for not wanting to express his feelings, not asking for help, and fleeing when confronted about anything.

"You don't look so good 'Gene, are you okay? Have you slept at all?"

Eugene sighed, it must be obvious then. And he was too tired to try and hide behind a façade today. And his head was still pounding from his killer headache. Hopefully he could manage to get them off his back and push through the rest of the day.

"Got a few minutes here and there but stayed here last night working on stuff. Wasn't enough time to go home."

Eugene, hoping that was the end of their conversation, turned back towards his computer, but a hand behind him stopped his chair and turned it all the way around. He now found himself staring at Keith and Ned as well, their faces evident of sympathy.

"Eugene," Ned started, "I know you think that this is more important than your wellbeing, but you need to take care of yourself, you can always ask us for help on something"

Keith spoke up next. "Yeah Eugene, you always take the brunt of the work but we're happy to help."

Eugene rubbed his eyes and sighed, exhaustion once again reaching his eyes. He started to shake his head.

"I'm okay guys, really, don't worry about it." He started to swivel away once more but once again a hand caught his chair, preventing the action.

"Gene', please, talk to us, at least take a break and let us get you some lunch or something, it doesn't look like you've been eating well either." Zach mentioned in a sheepish voice. He hoped he hadn't scared off Eugene, but it looked as if he was too exhausted to fight it, so he gave in.

"Sure, I could eat" Eugene claimed, nodding his head and receiving many sighs of relief from his friends.

Eugene shakily rose to his feet as the others gathered their things. Everything seemed to be blurrier than before he'd stood, and the room began to spin. The headache he'd been maintaining increased again, he was sure someone was drilling his brain. He managed to grip his chair to steady himself, breathing deeply with his head towards the ground to try and prevent the spinning. Then, slowly, the edges of his vision started to become black and his ears seemed to be stuffed with cotton. He closed his eyes tightly and willed the problem to go away. His grip became loose and he felt his knees lock and body begin to give way. His eyes opened slightly, and he noticed nothing was in focus.

"Eugene!" He heard someone shout his name from far away, or maybe many people were shouting at him, but everything seemed to be echoing like he was in a cave, and the light was leaking out of his vision. As the floor came closer into his view, Eugene's eyes slipped closed and, though the voices seemed more urgent, they became more and more muffled. His headache started to dull and everything became numb. He thought he felt hands wrapping around his body, but his mind was slipping, and soon he knew no more.

There was something soft under his head. Eugene couldn't remember how he'd gotten here, wherever he was, but he hadn't laid on anything this comfortable for weeks. The cold clothing he remembered wearing seemed to have been replaced by baggy, warm clothing. As his mind seemed to clear the first thing Eugene noticed was that his headache, while still present, was not as intense anymore. The second thing he noticed were the voices which seemed far away, but loud enough that he could distinguish what they were saying.

"I don't know what to do you guys, he pushes himself hard but it's never been this bad before"

"I know, he needs our help, but I don't know if he'll accept it"

"He will, he has to!"

"Well we just need to convince him, his health is too important"

"I don't know if he knows that…"

After the last comment, the conversation seemed to dissolve into an uncomfortable silence. Eugene heard one set of footsteps approaching him and he decided it was time to figure out where he was. Eugene's eyes opened to slits and he saw Ned walking towards him with Zach and Keith standing through the doorway with worry on their faces. Eugene closed his eyes again and his eyebrows pinched together as his headache again began to intensify. Why couldn't he have just stayed asleep? Someone (Ned?) sat down next to him, he must've saw he was awake before he closed his eyes again.

"'Gene? Are you awake?" In response Eugene just grunted, his mouth too dry to reply and his headache not allowing him to form coherent sentences.

"Hey, can you open your eyes for me? Just for a minute." Ned pleaded. Eugene groaned once again, but complied. His eyes opened slightly wider this time, adjusting to the light seeping through the windows. It looked like they were at Ned's house, and he was on his couch. How the hell did they get here? Weren't they at the office. With Eugene's look of confusion, Ned picked up on his thoughts.

"You collapsed in the office from exhaustion Eugene. You kinda freaked everyone out. Luckily Keith and I caught you before you hurt yourself by hitting the floor, but Keith had to carry you to my car and we brought you over here. We're all out of work for the rest of the day. Eugene, why didn't you say anything? We're always here to help you, you don't have to do this alone." Ned's voice choked up a bit at this and Eugene frowned. He didn't realize him doing this would have such an effect on his friends. Eugene cleared his throat to speak, but his tongue seemed to stick to the top of his mouth. Ned picked up on this and helped sit Eugene up to drink the water he had brought over for him. Eugene blushed as he wasn't strong enough to hold the cup, but was thankful Ned was there to help. As he eased him back down, Eugene felt better with some water in him.

"I'm sorry" Eugene started, cringing at his still scratchy voice, "I didn't think it would get this bad. I just… everything needs to be perfect, there's still so much to do and sleep doesn't seem high up on the list right now." His heart began beating fast thinking about the work he still had to do.

"It's not just sleep 'Gene, and you know it" Keith started, stepping into the room. "I've lifted you before, and you've always been skinny, but you feel like you weigh as much as Zach now, and you've got five inches on him. That's not healthy. I don't know if you're doing this on purpose or if it's truly just stress and being distracted, but, Eugene, you need our help, and it's not making you any less of a man to ask for our help. That's what friends are for."

Eugene looked away from them, avoiding their eye contact. He knew they were right, but there was still so much to do before VidCon. Zach seemed to be reading his thoughts though and answered them before Eugene even opened his mouth.

"'Gene you're already ahead on almost everything. We're all mostly done with our stuff too, so we can all help with the last little bit okay? We still have a week left to finish everything up okay? So just, take it easy for a little, let us in, let us help you…"

Eugene made eye contact with Zach and choked back tears that threatened to fall. The other guys noticed this, and Ned put a comforting hand on Eugene. He started to feel his walls cracking, all the stress and anxiety that had been building up suddenly seemed harder to keep at bay. As he closed his eyes tightly and clenched his jaw, arms wrapped around him. Suddenly he'd been maneuvered into Ned's arms as he joined him on the couch and Eugene was pulled into a tight, comforting, hug, his head resting against the man's chest. The other two seemed to appear beside him and he felt more arms around him. Eugene knew he was done for, the walls had cracked, and they'd all just pushed them down the rest of the way. He felt a sob break through the barrier and wrack his body as the stress finally broke out of his body. The tears streamed out of him and wet Ned's shirt, but Eugene was too distracted to notice, and Ned didn't care.

They sat like that for a long while, the three friends sadly holding their usually emotionally distant friend as he sobbed into their arms, only the second time they'd ever seen him genuinely cry. The three didn't know what to do or say, other than just to sit there and hold him as he let go. The sobs seemed to subside and after a while the four of them were sitting there in silence as Eugene's shivers seemed to lessen. Their grips loosened and the hug dispersed, leaving Ned next to Eugene on the couch with an arm around him and Eugene wiping tears off his face.

"Sorry" Eugene mumbled, his head looking down at the floor.

"There's nothing to apologize for, it's okay. You've helped all of us when we've been in a rough place before, let us help you now" Zach stated in a soft voice.

Eugene nodded softly and the other three made eye contact, smiling softly which read mission accomplished on each of their faces.

"How do you feel Eugene? Genuinely, how do you feel? And don't say 'I'm fine', we know you're not" Keith spoke.

Eugene sighed, "I've got a killer headache, it's been bothering me all day, and I'm exhausted"

"are you hungry at all?" Ned asked, gently rubbing his back. Eugene shook his head. The thought of eating something right now gave him a nauseated feeling in his stomach. He didn't think he could keep anything down right now.

"okay well you don't have to eat now but you do later, okay?" Eugene nodded at Ned. Zach appeared at his side with painkillers, placing them in his hand and helping him down them with water. After a few minutes the pain seemed to lessen and he looked up at the other guys.

"Can I go to sleep?" Eugene asked weakly. The three of them nodded with sympathy in their eyes.

"You can take the guest bed" Ned stated, "come on, we gotta get you in their first." Ned stood up and Keith appeared on his other side. They each grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet. Eugene hadn't realized how weak he was until he was standing. As soon as he stood, his body swayed, but luckily his two friends were at his side. He blinked stars from his vision and Keith looked at Ned.

"It might be easier for me to just carry him" Keith said and Ned nodded immediately. Before Eugene could protest or claim he could walk, Keith scooped him up into a bridal carry and began walking towards the guest bed room. Eugene's head rested against his friend's chest and, though he'd never admit it, he was relived to not have to walk all this way, it seemed further than usual. Zach and Ned trailed behind, getting some more water for Eugene and whispering to each other at the state of their friend.

Ned pulled the duvet back and Keith gently placed Eugene in the bed. He looked so small in the big bed, especially in Ned's shirt and sweatpants which he seemed to swim in. When they'd changed him from his cold and wet clothing earlier they'd all gasped to see his ribs bulging out of his chest and his concave stomach. Sure, Eugene had always been skinny (skinnier than all of them had liked, they already weren't sure if he ate enough), but now he looked malnourished. Once he was awake again they needed to make sure he ate something immediately. As they tucked him in it was evident that Eugene was already out like a light in the bed. The three friends sighed and looked at one another.

"We'll fix him, we will, we have to" Zach said. Ned and Keith nodded in agreement. They drew the shades and closed the door, letting their friend get some much needed rest.

WOW this was much longer than expected. I'm going to make this a two part. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I loved writing it, we need more Try Guys fanfiction out there so I'm just trying to help! Thanks for reading


	2. Chapter 2

This is part 2 to my story about Eugene being exhausted before VidCon and the other Try Guys trying to help him out! Enjoy

 **Pushing the limits (2/2)**

Eugene awoke slowly to a quiet room. He lay in what may be the most comfortable bed in the entire world. Disoriented, he opened his eyes slightly. The blinds were drawn and the room was dark, but he could tell he was in Ned's guest room. As memories started to come flooding back, he glanced around and located a water glass. He reached his arm (which felt stronger than he remembered it being) and drank from the glass until the water was gone. Rolling over, Eugene glanced at the clock. It read 7:48 am. Eugene shot up, he was gunna be late for work! As he threw his legs over the side of his bed he realized suddenly that he was not wearing his own clothing. Red hoodie and red sweatpants, must be Ned's (red is his favorite color because Red rhymes with Ned). Shaking his head he stood, feeling a lot less weak, but still not back to his old self. Eugene walked towards the door and opened it to a surprising view.

In down the hallway he could see the kitchen with all three of his best friends in it, including Ned's wife Ariel. They were placing breakfast foods on the table, speaking happily, none of them seeming to be in a rush to get to work. They only had ten minutes, what the hell?!

Eugene appeared at the doorway and everyone seemed to pause for a moment. Keith placed the bacon he'd been carrying down and walked over to give Eugene a hug. While Eugene didn't necessarily reciprocate the hug as much as he could've, he put one hand on the taller mans back and patted it softly. This was more than he'd usually do as he didn't love human contact and tended to shy away from hugs. Everyone else seemed to resume their duties as Keith spoke to Eugene.

"Hey how are you feeling? You slept forever so I'm assuming you're not as tired anymore? Are you hungry?"

Eugene locked eyes with Keith, reading his obvious concern in his eyes. Eugene's eyes flicked to the others before he answered.

"I'm not as tired anymore, haven't slept that well in a while. But I'm not really hungry…"

Keith frowned, something passing over his eyes. Sadness? Disappointment? Eugene couldn't quite pin what emotion it was before Keith spoke again.

"Well I'm sorry Eugene but you're going to eat anyways. You've lost a lot of weight and we're all going to make sure you eat properly."

Eugene swallowed and nervously allowed Keith to lead him into a chair at the table. The food looked so good, but for some reason it only made him want to throw up. The rest of the group joined him at the table, Zach handing him a cup of coffee which Eugene gratefully took and gulped down. As everyone began serving themselves, Eugene began to zone out slightly and, all of the sudden a full plate was placed in front of him by Ned. Eugene made eye contact with Ned who smiled and sat down beside him. It was clear that even if he didn't want to eat, he was going to have to at least try. Before that though he had to ask…

"Guys, um… what about work? We're supposed to be there in… a few minutes ago?" Eugene looked at the clock with confusion. The others looked at each other and Zach opened his mouth for an explanation.

"We got the rest of the week off. They understand, we have a whole 'nother week to finish everything and it's practically all done. Don't worry about it, just… let us worry about you for once, okay?" Zach pleaded.

Eugene saw the same look in the other twos eyes, as well as Ariel's and so he nodded. They all smiled at him and began eating and talking, hoping Eugene would get the hint.

He picked up his fork and gulped. It had been a while since he'd eaten something substantial, hell it'd been a while since he'd eaten anything at all. Deciding to start with something easy, Eugene poked at the scrambled eggs on his plate. He picked a small chunk up with his form and examined them. It didn't look like there was much of anything on then, so they should be pretty easy on his unused stomach.

As he took the bite, the egg sat in his mouth seemingly without taste. Eugene blandly chewed the substance and swallowed hard. After swallowing his stomach immediately reacted, used to not having any food in quite a while, and started to reject the offer. He couldn't let down his friends though, so he continued eating bits of the egg. After a while though, Eugene put his fork down, breathing heavily, and concentrated on not puking at the table.

Keith glanced at his friend who seemed to have turned a few shades whiter. He'd barely touched his food and yet…. He must be worse than they thought.

"Hey, hey 'Gene it's okay" Keith said placing and arm on his back and scratching it softly to try and comfort him. Eugene seemed barely present and Ned immediately stood to grab a waste basket. It arrived just in time in front of the man's mouth as he puked his breakfast into the bin. Sympathetic looks appeared immediately on the other four's faces and when Eugene stopped puking they brought him to the couch where he'd previously resided yesterday. Keith continued rubbing in back as Ned brought water over. Zach and Ariel whispered softly to each other and watched the scene play out.

Eugene felt better now that the wretched eggs were out of his body, but puking had zapped his energy again and guilt fell in his stomach as he'd promised his friends he'd get better. Tears sprung to his eyes but he held them back. He already broke down yesterday, his friends wouldn't want to have to deal with that again.

When Eugene stopped thinking he realized he was laid out on the couch, and on Keith as his back was against Keith's chest. It seemed that the larger man was acting as a sort of pillow and Eugene was atop him. Keith's arm was wrapped around Eugene's lean waist and legs were tangled with his as well. His other hand was lightly stroking Eugene's hair in a conforming manner. Eugene closed his eyes and sighed softly, leaning into the touch, and like that he fell into a light sleep.

Ned and Zach left Keith to take care of Eugene and went into the other room to talk. Ariel had to leave for a project she was working on so the Try Guys were left together in Ned's house to try and pice their friend back together.

"I don't think he has an eating disorder, but somethings wrong Ned. He barely held and food in." Zach exclaimed sadly.

Ned sighed, "I don't think he does either, but we need to entertain the possibility. It is possible though that maybe he has just been busy and forgot to eat. Either way, we need to figure out a way to reintroduce food to his body and get some weight back on him." Zach nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we should… weigh him? He probably won't like that but it may help to wake him up to the problem and then we can monitor his development…" Zach sheepishly said. Ned thought for a moment but then agreed.

"It's probably for the best."

Keith was holding a dozing Eugene in his arms. The poor man looked like a little kid, frightened and weak, bones awkwardly jutting out in places they shouldn't be. The one arm he was holding around his friends body could feel every rib sticking through his chest and his concave stomach. Keith was scared if he held him too tight he may break. So for now he just continued playing with his hair and let his friend sleep.

Eugene came to in a tight position. He was being held in place by a strong arm. He suddenly remembered that Keith had been holding him after he'd upchucked his breakfast and blushed slightly from embarrassment. As he moved slightly, Keith seemed to realize he was awake, and he helped maneuver him into a sitting position. A glass of water appeared in front of his eyes and he gladly took it from Zach. When he finished drinking, his eyes looked up and he saw his best friends sitting around him with a look of pity on their faces. Ned opened his mouth to speak.

"Eugene, I think we should weigh you… we need to see how much weight you've lost so we know how to help you become healthy again." Eugene's heart froze, he couldn't let them weigh him! He didn't want them to know how much he weighed now, he'd always had issues with his image but now he felt as though he'd be made fun of for being so weak. Seeing the blood drain from his face, Zach added "Eugene we won't judge you, we just want to help. We're all worried about you, I mean we could see all your ribs when we put that sweatshirt on you. Please?"

Eugene gulped, he knew they wanted to help but deep down there was a part of him that thought they were just pretending. How could anyone really care for him that much anyways? Deciding he wasn't going to get what he wanted, he gave in and nodded, defeated. The Try Guys helped him to his feet and they all walked into Ned's bathroom where the scale was sitting out.

Eugene's heart began to beat fast as he stepped into the scale. The last time he'd been weighed was for a Try Guys shoot and he was at 164lbs. As a 6'0" man, he was already on the smaller end of the spectrum, he had no idea where he'd be now. Hopefully it wouldn't be too drastic and the other guys would see he was fine, and they'd leave him alone about it. However, as the numbers flashed on the scale, Eugene's jaw dropped.

It read 143lbs

The other Try Guys tried to hold back their gasps of surprise as the number appeared on the scale. Eugene had lost 21lbs since the last time he'd been weighed, which wasn't that long ago! The men have each other worried looks and then looked at Eugene's face. It was full of surprise.

Eugene blinked, was his mind tricking him? Nope still the same number. He hadn't realized it had gotten this bad. Suddenly the fake image of himself that his mind had created was gone as he looked in the mirror. His cheekbones jutted out of his face sharply. He looked like a toddler wearing Ned's clothing where as before they only would've looked a little big on him. He lifted the sweatshirt and saw his stomach, each rib protruding out and his stomach sucked in towards his back. He let the sweatshirt fall and breathed in deeply, finally understanding why his friends were worried. He looked like shit to say the least. Tears seemed to prick his eyes for the second time today as he glanced towards the floor.

"I'm sorry" he muttered to his friends. He truly didn't mean to get this far. Sure he had a lot of body issues, thinking he was too fat or not muscular enough, but he didn't realize he looked like a frickin walking corpse. Eugene was pulled quickly off the scale into a hug, which turned into a group hug. From the hug Ned began to speak.

"Don't apologize Eugene, it's okay. This is what friends are for, we're gunna help you get better."

"We're just glad you realize that it's a problem now, but you don't have to do this alone, we'll fix this together" Zach promised, leaning further into the hug.

"Thanks" Eugene said. He would've liked to say more but it seemed that words were caught in his throat right now and he couldn't form a sentence. He was so touched that they all loved him so much, he often assumed they just kept him around because he happened to volunteer for the first video, but he could see that, at least for the moment, they really deeply cared for him. Though he couldn't quite understand why (as he wasn't the biggest fan of himself), for now he'd take it, no questions asked.

They'd managed to all settle back on the couch, this time Eugene resting his head against Ned's chest with his feet resting in Zach's lap. They'd turned on the tv and we're watching reruns of the Big Bang Theory. Eugene seemed to be zoning now as the other two sat with him.

Keith, meanwhile, was in the kitchen, preparing the best meal he could think of for someone with a sensitive stomach. Crackers, small pieces of ham, some sprite, and some raw almonds. When he brought the food out, they awoke Eugene and helped him sit up, placing a wastebasket near his feet and encouraged him to try and eat.

He took a sip of the sprite and smiled, immediately it helped him feel a bit better, and it reminded him of when his mother used to take care of him when he had the flu as a child. The three didn't push him, but when Eugene only continued drinking the sprite for a few minutes they sighed. Eugene finally put the drink down and picked up a cracker. It was clear all the Try Guys were watching him from the corner of their eyes, but they were trying to be inconspicuous, and Eugene was grateful they weren't all staring at him as he tried to eat the food. He nibbled on the corner of the cracker, it didn't have much taste, but he didn't feel as nauseated when this food entered his mouth as he did when he tried to eat the eggs earlier. Swallowing the cracker, he sat and waited for the nausea to take hold of his stomach. Luckily, after a couple minutes, his stomach still felt okay and he reached for another. The other Try Guys smiled at each other, happy they'd convinced their friend to eat.

The Try Guys were currently sitting around Ned's table, computers open, trying to finish up the last of their projects for VidCon. All except Eugene, who was currently passed out on the couch, covered in a blanket. After he'd eaten, the man had promptly dozed off, obviously still trying to catch up on some much needed sleep. Luckily the food he'd eaten, though very little, had stayed down and they hadn't had any incidents.

The rest of the week and weekend went smoothly, Eugene stayed with Ned and his wife and they made sure he was eating properly and getting enough sleep. Keith and Zach managed to pop over a couple of times as well. They all got everything done for VidCon, which meant next week could be spent on finalizing their costumes and routine for their actual performance. With Eugene steadily gaining back the weight he lost, he wouldn't get it all back before the performance, but he'd look less like a corpse and more healthy. Hopefully their fans wouldn't notice. Eugene was grateful for the friendship he had with these people, and he promised them that he wouldn't push himself this hard again (well, he'd try at least).

Yayyyyyyyyy I'm really happy with where this ended up. I think next I'm going to do a sicfic of some sort… we'll see where I end up going with this! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I loved writing it. Suggestions encouraged below


	3. Chapter 3

So this fic is going to be based off the fact that Eugene does not like to share his feelings so when he's feeling like shit he doesn't tell anyone. This will get him in trouble with the other Try Guys. I also may start only putting one of the others in some of the fics so I can focus on each characters interactions with him, but some will still have all of them. I think this will probably be a one part fic, but we'll see where the wind takes us. Enjoy!

 **Remember to Breath (1/1)**

Eugene woke up feeling like shit. He could already tell today was going to suck. His lungs burned with every breath he took and his throat felt scratchy. When he started to sit up a cough wracked through his body which turned into an attack of sorts. He couldn't stop coughing for a few minutes, and when he finally did he was left sweaty and exhausted, breathing hard in his bed.

He weakly turned his head towards the clock. 7:25am it read, meaning he had 35 minutes to get to work. Sitting up he felt the room spin slightly and he gripped the bed till his knuckles turned white. Slowly and steadily, Eugene managed to stand and walk along the wall to the bathroom. Surely a shower would help wake him, right? He managed to peel the clothing off his body, the sweat caused it to stick to his chest and back especially, and he stepped into the shower.

Though he'd been sweaty, Eugene found himself shivering, and turned the water as hot as he could stand. The steaming water ran down his back and he thought his skin might be burning off, but he was too cold to care. The steam also seemed to slightly smooth his throat and lungs, so he could take it. He washed his hair quickly and jumped out of the shower. It was now late enough that he didn't have time to eat if he wanted to get to work on time, so he quickly styled his hair the best he could, got dressed, grabbed some coffee, and went to work.

By the time he arrived, the small comfort he'd had from the steam on his lungs had worn off. Every breath seemed to burn more and more, but Eugene would push through. He had another coughing fit in the car, but managed to calm down quicker this time. Putting on his façade, he did his best to look completely healthy as he walked into work. Luckily he didn't have a shoot today, but he did have to edit a big video for the Try Guys that was due soon. He sighed as he saw Ned and Zach were already there talking when he arrived, and they noticed him right away.

"Hey Eugene how's it goin?" Zach asked loudly. Ned smiled and turned to face him as well.

"Doin fine how are y'all?" Eugene cringed at his voice. It sounded like his throat had been viciously attacked by a lion. His voice cracked many times and he spoke softly.

"Are you feeling okay 'Gene?" Ned asked stepping towards him. His hand extended to feel the temperature of Eugene's forehead but he managed to shy away just in time.

"I'm fine really guys, my throats just dry because I slept with my mouth open" he answered sharply, voice still in shambles but a little stronger this time. He turned away annoyed, ready to go work somewhere else, but hadn't been paying attention as Keith appeared out of no where and caught him in his arms. Though Eugene was strong, Keith had a few inches as well as quite a bit of weight on him, and Eugene was sick, so Keith was able to hold him still. Keith took his arm and wrapped it tightly around Eugene, pulling him close to his chest, then proceeded to place the other hand on his forehead. Gasping Keith let Eugene go.

"'Gene you're burning up!" Eugene rolled his eyes and began to flee muttering "I'm fine". The other guys stood awestruck before proceeding to follow Eugene.

He knew they were following him, it pissed him off. He could handle himself, he didn't need to be babysat all the time! As he ascended the stairs, Eugene's chest began to tighten up. His breath hitched and suddenly he found himself keeled over in the staircase, coughing his lungs out. His eyes closed as he coughed, bringing tears to his eyes. He felt a body grab him and bring him to the ground, and another scratching his back. He continued coughing and coughing and he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to breath again. His head spun as he lost oxygen and a small headache made itself known, but he couldn't stop coughing. Someone was patting his back now which seemed to help a little bit. After a few more minutes the coughing subsided and Eugene was taking small, shallow breaths, scared that if he breathed too deeply he'd begin to cough again. He felt a hand on his wrist, feeling his pulse? He wasn't sure why but it did feel like his heart was beating out of his chest. Someone lightly slapped his face. Eugene chose to ignore it, but the tapping became more insistent and he opened his eyes half lidded.

"—ene, Eugene!" "Is he with us?" "His heart was beating real fast" "come on Eugene"

Eugene tried to open his eyes further, but they seemed too heavy now. His breathing was still labored and shallow, and everything was blurry. Ned suddenly care slightly more into focus and he was the one who'd been tapping his face.

"Hey Eugene, we're gunna get you outta here okay? You're too sick to work, you need to rest, I'm gunna take you home alright?" Eugene barely registered what Ned was saying but lightly nodded his head. With that he seemed to fly off the ground, though he guessed Keith had simply just picked him up and was now carrying him back down the stairs. He would've been embarrassed, had he not just been trying to breath and not cough, but right now the nature of the situation didn't seem important. His head was resting comfortably against Keith's shoulder and his eyes slipped shut. In what seemed to be a blink, Eugene was being unbuckled from a car (Ned's? He couldn't remember how he'd gotten there though…) and his head looked to the side. Opening his heavy eyes Eugene saw Ned trying to pull him out of the car.

"Hey can you stand for me 'Gene? You can lean against me, come on" while Ned could probably easily life Eugene, he still had quite a few inches in height on him which made it too awkward. Eugene stood and swayed on his feet, leaning heavily against Ned. They slowly made it up the sidewalk and up the stairs to Ned's front door. Ned awkwardly unlocked the door while simultaneously trying to hold Eugene steady. Finally he unlocked he door and lead the poor man inside.

Eugene was put down on Ned's couch, a place he seemed to end up more than he liked, and a blanket was draped atop him. Eugene opened his eyes once more, opening his mouth to ask where Zach and Keith were, but all that came out was a cough.

Soon he was having the same trouble as earlier, he couldn't seem to catch his breath. Ned held him and patted his back hard, hoping to dislodge any fluid in his lungs or startle him into breathing. This attack was not as bad, ending much quicker than the last. Eugene held his head in his hands trying to breath and Ned disappeared. When he reappeared in front of Eugene he seemed to be holding something. It looked like some sort of humidifier, but it had something that looked like an oxygen mask. Ned placed it over Eugene's face before he could protest and he suddenly was glad he didn't. The air became warmer, like the steam from his shower earlier, and it comforted his lungs. Eugene's eyes slipped shut. He could breath again! Slowly he started taking deeper breaths until he was breathing normally. He felt a hand to his wrist and heard a sigh of relief. His pulse must be back to normal as well. Noise indicated that Ned was leaving the room and Eugene laid on the couch, relaxed, finally able to breath again.

When Eugene came to, his lungs felt much better, but still not back to normal. When he opened his eyes Ned was sitting in a chair next to him and he realized the tv was on. Eugene began sitting up and immediately Ned was at his side helping him. Reaching up to remove the mask, Ned helped him, then immediately some form of liquid was stuck in front of his face.

"Cough syrup, drink it." Ned stated firmly. Eugene hesitated, but by the look on Ned's face he knew there was no getting out of this one. He grasped the cup and tilted it back in one swig. Just like taking a shot. He cringed as the terrible fake cherry taste hit his tongue. He swallowed thickly and, thankfully, Ned immediately provided him with a cup of water. He took a big swig of the water and leaned back against he couch.

"Feeling better?" Ned asked, concerned. Eugene just nodded, words were too much work right now. Ned reached an arm around him and pulled him close.

"Eugene, next time PLEASE ask one of us for help. I know you don't like to and you feel like we have better things to do but you're more important than any work thing we have okay?" Ned looked as though he was going to cry, and Eugene's eyes pricked with tears. He looked at his lap and nodded.

His friends often reminded him that they cared deeply for him, and he always pretended like he believed them, but there was always a part of him that told him "they're just pretending, they're just gunna leave like everyone else has, better to not get close to anyone". But at this moment he ignored the voice and listened to Ned.

Ned pulled Eugene's head to his chest and hugged him. Eugene didn't hug back but Ned wasn't expecting that, he just needed to comfort his friend, and Eugene was grateful. Instead he curled into a ball and cuddled into Ned's chest. Ned turned his head back towards the tv and Eugene rested and, for once, it seemed that they were all at peace.

Thanks for reading as always! I liked making this fic a lot. I think Eugene and Ned's relationship, while competitive, runs very deep and although they sometimes get on each other's nerves they actually have a very deep and emotional friendship. All the Try Guys would do anything for each other and I love writing about that! Hope you enjoyed


	4. Chapter 4

This part will be a fic in which Eugene interacts with Keith, you'll have to read and see what happens...

 **Tumbling (1/1)**

Walking through the forest, Eugene breathed hard. Keith and he had been walking for hours, they'd decided to go on a hike together since Zach and Ned were out of town. Keith had been cracking jokes and making Eugene laugh, until they'd managed to get lost. His clothing clung to his body with sweat and his breathing was labored.

Eugene was behind Keith and he seemed to be doing fine, trudging along with confidence, somehow making it seem like he knew where he was going. Keith began humming a tune and continued his happy attitude. Eugene didn't understand how he did it, this was miserable. But he kept his thoughts quiet and continued following his friend.

Soon they had reached a rocky slope. On one side was a sloping field, the other side was slightly steeper, but full of rocks rather than wheat and grass. Keith smiled at Eugene and with his usual happy and confident attitude, he began leading the two of them up the rocky slope. With Keith in the lead, it was a bit easier to see which rocks were the loose. This made it a bit easier on Eugene, but he was making sure to watch if Keith slipped to try and catch him. It was about halfway up before things went wrong.

Keith was being as careful as he could, the slope they were climbing was definitely not the safest way to go, but it was the quickest and they were both too impatient to go another way. He stepped on a rock and it shifted slightly under his feet, but seemed to hold, so Keith continued walking. Eugene though, failed to notice the movement of the rock and was less careful as his foot was placed on the rock. Keith had seemed to dislodge it further from its place without realizing it, and when Eugene's weight was placed on it, it slipped from the hold.

Eugene's heart pumped fast. He wasn't expecting the rock to slip and was surprised. He let out a yelp as he began to fall. Reaching his hands out in front of him to catch him, he suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through his left wrist and began to tumble off the small trail. Not able to catch himself, Eugene began to tumble down the side with more rocks on it. He brought his arms into his chest as best he could, as he realized he couldn't stop his momentum. Each time he hit the ground there was pain that would shoot through his body. The pain continued to increase but his speed was slowing until suddenly he felt his head ram into something and suddenly the world went black.

Keith screamed as his friend tumbled down the slope, nothing he could do to help. He watched in fear and he tumbled closer and closer to a rock at the bottom of the slope. The unthinkable happened as a crack rang through the air and Eugene's head slapped against the boulder. His body lay unmoving on the ground and Keith was sure that his friend was dead. Tears sprang to his eyes and Keith, quickly as he could, descended their previous climb and made his way fearfully over to Eugene.

There was blood on the boulder and on his head. Keith immediately placed two fingers to his neck, feeling for a pulse. It was slow and sluggish, but it was there. Carefully as possible, Keith dragged his friend away from the boulder to get a better look at everything. The wound on his head was large and bleeding, it would probably need stitches and Eugene most likely had a concussion. Looking at the rest of his body, it seemed that he'd been lucky to get away with bruises and scrapes, until he glanced at his wrist. Eugene's left wrist was swollen and purple, it looked like he may have broken it. Not good.

Not knowing what he could do to help his friend, Keith started to panic, but he knew the first thing to do would be to stop the bleeding. Keith removed his backpack and pulled out an extra sweatshirt he'd brought in case it had been cold, and he used his swiss army knife to cut a long strip of fabric. He wrapped the fabric around Eugene's head (messing up his hair a bit along the way, hopefully Eugene wouldn't kill him).

After securing that, Keith cut another strip and went foraging for some sticks to make a makeshift splint for Eugene's swollen purple wrist. Quickly returning to his friend's side, he picked up the man's wrist and felt it, definitely broken. Luckily, he'd taken a first aid course which, randomly enough, dealt with resetting bones. It felt like it was a clean break so, praying Eugene wouldn't feel this, Keith got ready to reset the bone.

Keith grabbed his friend's hand and arm, bracing it. Quickly as he could, he did the movement that he'd been taught and set the bone back in its place. Sadly, this was enough to wake is friend.

Pain coursed through his body. He felt like he'd been run over by a truck. His wrist throbbed and it felt like someone had wrenched it off his arm. A scream tore through his throat and his back arched. Hands were suddenly holding him down, not allowing him to thrash around. His throat felt sore from screaming and his head throbbed horribly.

"-ey, hey... 'Gene hold on its okay" Keith's voice rang through. Eugene could only groan in reply.

"Hang on buddy it's gunna be okay. Can you open your eyes for me, just for a second, I think you have a concussion." Eugene grunted and tried to fulfil his friend's request. His eyes felt very heavy but after a few tries he managed to peel them open to a squint. The sun was too bright and increased his headache, but Keith was now leaning over Eugene looking at his pupils. He definitely had a concussion, his pupils were not responding correctly to the light.

Eugene let his eyes slip close again, it was too much work to keep them open.

"Eugene I can't let you fall asleep, I'm sorry" Eugene knew his friend was trying to help him and that he was right, but this all just seemed like too much effort right now. But he held on.

Keith opened his phone, no service, of course. They needed to get somewhere where he could call for help, but he didn't know if moving Eugene would be the best idea. Should he try to help him walk, or should he just carry him? Eugene was fairly light, but he didn't know if putting him in a fireman's carry would be safe, and his arms may not be able to hold him in the front of his body for very long.

"Eugene, we're gunna have to move, can you sit up for me?" Eugene groaned once again. He attempted to sit up and was immediately hit with a wave of nausea. Hands gripped him and helped him sit up, but he made a gagging motion and Keith helped him lean to the side so he could vomit.

After he emptied his stomach, Eugene's headache hammered harder than before. Keith leaned Eugene against his chest to let the man rest. He was obviously exhausted and hurting, the quicker they get out of here and get Eugene to a hospital, the better.

"Come on, lets stand you up, lean on me and take it slow, okay?" Eugene carefully nodded, still feeling squeamish but his stomach was a bit better now. Very slowly, Keith helped the man up. He wouldn't say Eugene was 'standing', he was more leaning than anything. Keith was holding Eugene's right arm over his shoulders and placed his other arm around Eugene's waist. Eugene heavily leaned to the right onto Keith's body as they slowly began walking.

About an hour later, Eugene had no energy left. He was sweaty and shaking, his body was shutting down. Barely coherent and stumbling, Eugene was starting to lose consciousness.

Keith noticed immediately. He let them stop for a moment, leaning Eugene on the ground against a rock. The man was fading quickly now, he'd made it much longer than he had expected. Checking his phone, he still didn't have a signal. He looked around, they were still in the woods, he didn't know what to do. Sighing, he put his head in his hands.

Suddenly, Keith noticed something. It sounded like... cars? Looking around, he didn't see a road, but there was definitely something around here. Standing, Keith walked away from Eugene and went towards the noise. Walking through the trees, he spotted a road not far away. Breathing a sigh of relief, he ran back to his friend.

Eugene was oblivious by now. After he'd been set down, his thoughts faded even more. He thought he was being lifted in someone's arms, his head was resting against something soft, but he didn't care as he faded into oblivion.

Eugene opened his heavy eyes to a dark room. He felt numb and tired, like he was floating. He reached his hand up towards his forehead and found a bandage wrapped tightly around it. He then noticed that his wrist was also bandaged. He remembered everything that had happened, but he had no idea how he got here, wherever 'here' was.

Looking towards the left side of the room, he noticed a slumped over shape in a chair by his bedside. His unbandaged hand was being lightly held by the tall man. Hospital? Eugene thought must be where he was.

Keith took care of me, I would've been stuck out there. Eugene let out a soft "Thank you" to Keith, unsure if he would even hear it, and sank back into the soft bed of nothingness.

Hey thanks for reading I hope you enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

Lie detector (1/2)

The Try Guys were getting ready for their next shoot. A lie detector test. Everyone was very excited but nervous about the questions they would be asked. They'd be able to answer all the questions they'd always have for each other. Eugene thought this would be hilarious, he didn't know that he would be the one teamed up on.

When Zach suggested this video idea, all the Try Guys began thinking of hilarious questions to ask one another. However, Zach thought of it for another reason. Their emotionally distant friend seemed to be struggling with something, but he'd never talk to them unless they cornered him. Zach let the other Try Guys in on it, convincing them easily that they needed to question Eugene last.

Eugene got dressed in his white shirt and black slacks. This was going to be fun. He had prepared for the other guy's tests and he wasn't worried that they'd get anything out of it. Although he was emotionally drawn, Eugene was fairly open about most of his life. If it was serious, no one knew, but embarrassing stories? That he could deal with.

After laughing his ass off at the other guys tests, he dressed back into his other clothing and got hooked up to the machine. He tried to break the ice with John but failed just as the other guys had. The three others waltzed into the cameras view and Eugene tried to keep it cool. They asked him a few standard questions at first.

"Eugene, do you secretly think that Ned and his wife are going to get a divorce?" It wasn't anything against Ned and Ariel, he knew they loved each other very much, but how could that part of him that saw his parents split not think it would happen to everyone?

"No." He answered quickly, hoping to move on. When John indicated he was lying he cringed but Ned didn't seem mad, or surprised, he expected that actually claiming he could've told Zach that.

"Do you believe in true love?" This was an easy one. "No." Swift and simple. Of course he didn't believe in true love.

"He's telling the truth." John stated and there was a resounding and disappointed "awwwwww" coming from the other guys but Eugene just shook his head.

"Eugene, have you ever thought about replacing one of us in the Try Guys?" "Of course" Zach suggested they needed more persons of color in the Try Guys and Eugene quickly agreed. At the beginning he had disliked being in the group. He didn't know any of them, he hated being on camera, and he wasn't really looking for any friends. Truth is he hadn't ever considered replacing them, but he did try to find someone to replace himself for a considerable amount of time as he assumed the audience, as well as the other three, wouldn't like him once they got to know him. After all, that's all he ever knew, get close to someone and they'll leave, May as well stay cold and distant. He'd been persistent for a while, but it was steadily growing harder as the three expressed what seemed to be genuine concern for him. But instead of voicing these opinions, Eugene agreed and they moved on.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Eugene shook his head, no use lying. "Yes." After explaining a story about his mother he got outta that one easily.

"You ever wanted to fuck any of us?" "No." The device picked something up and John announced he was lying. As Keith and Ned asked if it was them, he denied it so they assumed it had to be Zach. Truth is they were right, he had wanted to fuck Zach before. But he was drunk and it was unimportant.

Things seemed to be going relatively well so far. The questions had been simple and he was able to avoid opening up in any way, but little did he know things were about to heat up further. The three Try Guys has prepared more directly emotional questions for Eugene, recognizing this may be their only shot to get the man to open up to them.

Keith went first.

"Is your hair the product of all your insecurities?" Eugene frowned. Shit, do I lie or should I just explain myself? "Yes." John confirmed this was truthful and Eugene quickly explained that his hair was the only thing he was ever complimented on when he was younger, so it was the most important part of him.

Ned was next.

"Do you ever want children?" "Yes." He was greeted with a large" wooooooooow" from the group when this was true as he'd never had told them this. He didn't know how to deal with little kids but of course he wanted some of his own one day.

Zach glanced at the other two. The room became uncomfortable all the sudden as he leaned in to ask his question.

"Do you think you're the best try guy?" Of course not, he was probably the worst by far, but he didn't need to include that part. "No". It was confirmed and the other guys seemed shocked. He was very good at putting up an arrogant and confident front but little did they know it was just a mask. A mask he'd been wearing since childhood as he'd been broken when he was so young that the mask was the only way he could continue on.

"Eugene do you know how much the three of us care about you?"

Eugene wasn't sure what to do. The truth was he had no idea if the other three guys cared about him at all. They all seemed to share a bond that he just wasn't a part of. He knew it was his fault. Not only was he just not very likable but he kept himself closed off to the world like this, not allowing a bond to be formed. While he knew he'd be caught lying, he considered it. If he could get away with it then they wouldn't have to go down this road and he could put on the façade that he always wore. However, he'd probably be caught anyways. At this point, Eugene realized he was trapped. There was no way to get out of this one.

"No." He said simply and stared down at the table. John soon reported the truth behind his statement. Surprisingly enough though, Eugene received a response.

"We've gotta be better about that" Keith said sadly. Eugene glanced back at his friends. Zach looked distraught, Ned was shaking his head and frowning sadly, and Keith looked as though he was giving himself a mental beat down. He didn't understand why they would care for him, much less care whether or not he understood that they cared for him as well. No one had ever expressed this sort of relationship before and Eugene wasn't equips for these feelings. He felt himself shutting down and folding in upon himself in front of the camera. He'd make them cut this part out.

"Eugene," Ned started, "Do you think you deserve to be loved?" Shit that hit home. Here he was practically projecting his internal dialogue enough that Ned picked up on it. There was no use to lying, he'd only get caught.

"…no" his voice was tight and quiet. The silence was deafening.

"He's telling the truth"

Eugene closed his eyes, not willing to see what the other guys were thinking about him. Another voice spoke up, Keith this time.

"'Gene, are you happy that you're you? Do you like yourself?"

"No" no hesitation this time, Eugene was placing a tight mask on and answering robotically. The sooner he answered the sooner he'd get to leave.

He heard a sobbing noise and opened his eyes. He looked at his friends and noticed that each of them was looking back at them with wet eyes. He didn't understand.

"Why are you guys crying?"

"Do you really not understand?"

"No."

"He's telling the truth."

At this point they all were wiping tears from their faces and looking away. Somehow Eugene had hurt them and he wasn't sure how to fix it. This was the one thing he was supposed to be able to do, protect others, and he was failing.

"Tell me what you need me to do, what am I doing to hurt you guys, I don't understand please I'm so sorry help me fix this." Eugene pleaded. Tears began to well up in his eyes, somehow him being broken was breaking his other friends.

"Eugene, we're just disappointed that after all this time we still haven't broken through to you"

"You're important to us, you're our brother"

"We just want you to understand that you are loved and that you deserved to be loved. We don't want you to hate yourself because there's nothing to hate. You're amazing and deserve love" Eugene found that his face was wet as tears were trailing down his cheeks without him realizing it. Arms wrapped around him as he sat in the chair.

"I'm broken, you can't fix me" Eugene stated with certainty, "there's no point in trying to help me".

Ned shook his head against Eugene's arm, "you're not broken Eugene, you're too strong to be broken. Maybe you don't feel whole but we can help you. This is what friends do, and don't be frightened to ask for help because you've helped all of us many times. It's time for us to return the favor. Let us help, let us convince you that you deserve love and that you're worth it. Okay Eugene?" Eugene had tears in his eyes at this point but refused to let them fall. He couldn't believe them, this was what he'd been baited with before and he wouldn't get fooled again. He couldn't. He knew what people thought of him already, it didn't matter the lies he was being fed.

Eugene nodded to please the others, but made no other move.

After a few minutes the hug broke, the machine was taken off Eugene and he stood and walked out of the room without a word. He didn't know what to say. His nightmares had come true, they knew what was going on inside his head now. Running away seemed to be he easiest way to get out of an awkward conversation (well more awkward than he'd already been through). He grabbed his keys from his desk and walked out of the building without a word to anyone else. His stuff was left at his desk and it was not the end of his work day but he didn't care.

This was it. He was exposed to the other three guys now. They could see how broken he was and understand that their relationship had been a lie. Tears began forming in his eyes as he walked past his car. He decided suddenly that he needed to go on a run to get rid of this emotional turmoil.

He ran quickly down the sidewalk towards his apartment. His lungs burned and his face was now wet with tears he couldn't control. He was sprinting now, wanting to just hide in the dark.

When he eventually made it to his apartment he was covered in sweat and tears. He unlocked the door and closed it behind him. He was close now to a full breakdown.

Eugene walked to the bathroom, ignoring his dogs, and closed the door. He turned the water as hot as it would go and striped his clothing. Soon he was sitting on the shower floor sobbing into his own arms. He felt as through his heart was ripped in two, he felt more broken than he'd felt in a while. In fact, he may not have cried this way since his father left.

His family caused this internal sadness with Eugene. Always being put down for being ugly or dumb. Being the creative one was not necessarily a good thing in his household. His parents wanted him to be a doctor, but he had no passion nor the brains for it. His father left and his mother was distant. His sisters bullied him as well as kids at school. Eugene adjusted to his childhood as anyone would.

Pretend to be strong, pretend you don't care, never get real with anyone because god knows they'll use you and leave you too. His only childhood friend had done just that, used him up and when he was done tossed him out like garbage.

Eugene sobbed harder at this thought, no one had ever truly loved him, so why would he think someone would start now. The Try Guys had to be lying to him. And while he knew this was probably true, there was a part of him saying "no, they're telling the truth, you're not broken, you are loved" which just made it even more painful to think about. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself and cried even harder.

After about an hour, Eugene turned off the water and wrapped himself in a towel. The water had gone cold quite a while ago, but he'd continued to sit there in the shower. Now he was shivering from the cold air, but he felt empty. Like he'd just cried out 30 years of bottled emotion.

He put on some sweatpants and a large shirt and sat on the couch. He robotically turned on the tv and his dogs joined him, noticing something was wrong and trying to comfort him with kisses and cuddles.

Eugene weakly smiled at his dogs and curled in on himself, still shivering. He grabbed his phone for the first time since the video and saw he had many missed calls and texts from his coworkers as well as the Try Guys. He ignored them and placed his phone in his pocket, he couldn't be fake right now, he felt too raw. Instead he grabbed a soft blanket, cocooned himself within it, and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Lie Detector (2/?)

After Eugene glad the room, the other men were left in stunned and sad silence. John left and the three disassembled the studio quietly, no one knowing what to say. After around a half hour, they'd finished, and walked back to their desks. They immediately noticed Eugene was absent, though his stuff was still present on his desk.

"We should find him" Zach stated, but Keith shook his head.

"Let's give him an hour, then we'll go looking for him."

When their boss was walking around and noticed Eugene was gone, the three covered for him quickly. However, their coworkers were more insistent. Quinta most of all.

"Where'd he run off to? I need his help." Frustrated she ended up calling him, though she didn't receive an answer. Once an hour had past, Ned led Keith and Zach around the office, looking in the usual places Eugene hid when he was working on a project and needed to be undisturbed. When they couldn't find him, they walked outside.

"His car is here… but he's not anywhere to be seen" Ned reflected. "Do you think he'd walk home for some reason?" Zach and Keith both shrugged, they wouldn't think it rational but Eugene might've thrown rationality out the window.

"We haven't ever really seen Eugene this way, we've never gotten this much out of him, he might've just imploded. Let's try and contact him and if he doesn't answer we'll go to his apartment after work and see if he's there." Zach said and Keith and Ned agreed. The next few hours were filled with them trying to work while simultaneously trying to contact Eugene. Texting, calling, emailing, and they weren't getting any response at all. At the end of the day Keith put Eugene's stuff in his bag to take to him and the three piled in Ned's car to drive to Eugene's apartment.

When Eugene woke up a few hours later he ignored his phone that seemed to be having a seizure. He walked to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. Unhappy with what he saw, he continued looking anyways. Soon he'd stripped down and was staring at his fat body. His mother claimed he needed to eat more (and his friends mentioned it sometimes too) but he knew they were just joking around with him.

He had restricted himself for a long time, really only eating one meal a day, lunch, because his friends questioned him when he didn't. The day prior he'd had a chicken salad, which was too much and he'd been mad at himself for eating that. He hadn't eaten all day but he decided he didn't deserve to in order to lose some of the pounds he'd been stacking on.

He walked to his kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. This would have to suffice for now. His pups were following him around the apartment, noticing his distress. Eugene bent down to pet them sadly and accepted the love Pesto and Emma were offering. He went back to his place on the couch and thought back to the test. They'd need to edit a lot of his stuff out, he wasn't about to let the whole world see him exposed in such a manner.

Upset, Eugene put his head in his hands. This was ridiculous, he needed to stop thinking about this or else he may burst. He felt so broken, the walls he'd built were a crumbled pile of rubble and he felt as though anything could cause him to have another breakdown.

Then, all the sudden, Eugene heard the sound he'd been dreading. There was a knocking on the front door.

They still couldn't reach Eugene. They'd all called and texted multiple times and now they were starting to worry. Hopefully nothing bad had happened to him. As they reached his apartment they sighed, wondering what was going to happen once they walked inside that apartment. The intervention they'd known was coming for a long time was the most likely, hopefully Eugene was there. The three Try Guys walked up the stairs to his door and knocked. After a minute, they tried again with no luck. Ned, frustrated grabbed the handle and twisted but it wouldn't budge. They tried knocking again and they watched as he door swung open to a disheveled Eugene.

The man's hair was a mess, his skin pail, his dark circles that were always present were more prominent. It looked as though he may have had an emotional breakdown not to long ago. He was wearing baggy pants and a sweatshirt that seemed to swallow him, making him look very small and thin.

Eugene sighed and stepped to the side, his arm beckoning them to come in. The three filed in and walked to his couch, sitting down next to each other as Eugene sat in a chair farther away from them. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, here we go.

"Eugene, you can't keep us locked out like this anymore, it's not healthy" Ned started cautiously. This earned him a grunt from Eugene. It felt like them three were all parents lecturing their rebellious teenage son.

"We want you to know you can talk to us about anything," Keith claimed next, "really Eugene. You've been there for all of us multiple times and we want to be able to return the favor."

"We're all worried," Zach stated, "you've been acting… different lately. And I'm sorry we cornered you but really Eugene how else can we get you to talk to us?!" Zach was red in the face now with frustration and anguish and Eugene averted his eyes. Crossing his arms, he wasn't sure how to respond, so he just shrugged. Ned spoke up now.

"What happened that made you feel like you can't have emotions 'Gene? We don't know what's going on inside your head so we can't help you and we feel useless. How would you feel?"

Eugene considered this for a moment before he replied.

"I wouldn't be friends with me, so I wouldn't deal with it." He muttered. Once again his friends were in a stunned silence. It took a moment for Zach to compose his thoughts correctly.

"What if one of us were having problems 'Gene, what if one of us had depression? Would you want to help us?" Eugene flinched at the word 'depression', he was NOT depressed, he was FINE.

Before he could protest, Zach spoke up again.

"Eugene, I suffered from depression when I was a kid, I know the signs, I know what it's like because I've been there. So please don't deny it." Eugene shut his mouth and once again kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"Can you please just let us ask some questions at least? We won't put the lie detector equipment on you or anything but please be truthful" Ned asked. Eugene nodded, not moving his eyes. Maybe this was for the best, maybe they would help him, they would stay this time.

"Do you think that we don't like you?" Keith asked. Eugene thought before he spoke.

"I thought you all hated me at first, but now I know you guys are neutral about me. I know I'm not as close friends as you guys are and I try to respect that and keep my distance"

"Is that why you don't hang out with us outside of the Try Guys very much?"

Eugene gulped "Yes".

"When you said you wanted to replace a Try Guy, who were you referring to?"

There was quite a long pause before the answer to that one.

"…myself"

"Why?"

"…my whole life I haven't been good enough… so why would anyone disagree with that. I just thought because of my family and what happened in school…" Eugene trailed off lost in memory before he returned to the real world, "I just didn't think anyone would think I'm funny enough to do these episodes with you guys, so I was trying to find someone to replace myself so you wouldn't have to."

Eugene kept his eyes glued to the floor, but he felt how uncomfortable the others were. They would probably want to replace him now that he explained his reasoning, after all it was pretty understandable. But then, something surprising happened.

"Eugene, we'd never replace you." Keith pleaded. For a brief second Eugene looked into Keith's eyes before returning them to the floor. He seemed sincere, but he was still weary. Zach and Ned murmured in agreement.

Eugene disengaged from the floor and looked up at his friends once more. The three were had a look in their eyes that said "please believe us", and Eugene found that he was beginning to. That didn't mean he still didn't like himself, but his friends were working pretty hard to get him to understand that. No one in his life had worked this hard for him before. He felt tears well up in his eyes as they had earlier in the shower. He hadn't cried in front of anyone since he was a little kid. He stood up to leave and began to rush out of the room before the tears poured over. Before he made it to the doorway, a blurry Keith appeared in front of him.

A tear slipped down his cheek and he felt the already crumbled walls begin to be knocked down again. He brought his head to his hands and silently began to sob into his hands. Long arms wrapped around his thin body and pulled him into a tight hug. Usually he'd protest the hug, but for the first time in a long time, Eugene leaned into the hug. Keith grabbed his head softly and brought it to his chest, and Eugene brought his hands away from his face and wrapped them around Keith's body.

Keith looked up startled at the other Try Guys when Eugene's arms wrapped around him. Ned and Zach shared a look, confused as well. Eugene was shaking in Keith's arms as he was silently sobbing, breaking slowly in front of their eyes.

"Hey hey lets sit okay?" Keith whispered to Eugene. He nodded into his chest and continued his crying. He maneuvered Eugene to the couch, the man keeping his head against his chest the whole time. Eugene immediately began to curl up in a ball against Keith. He pulled him into his lap and wrapped his arms around him again. Zach and Ned decided to leave and give them some space, they were sure Eugene wouldn't want the two of them staring at him while he collapsed into Keith's arms.

Eugene and Keith stayed like that for a while, him allowing Eugene to cry, the first time any of them had seen him cry. He was so quiet, like he'd trained himself to be this way. When he began to slow down, Keith loosened his grip and let Eugene off his lap.

"Thanks" Eugene muttered, "sorry".

"It's okay 'Gene, you're allowed to cry"

"I've never been diagnosed, but I think I've been depressed for a long time. I just, I'm never good enough for myself or others, and until you guys… I never had friends."

"Well we're here for you now okay? We're your best friends. We don't have some special bond without you, you're as much part of this as the rest of us. We love you Eugene."

"I love you guys too" Eugene said sincerely, so thankful. For the first time in a long time, he knew they were telling the truth, and he trusted his friends. Ned and Zach had been listening from the side and came in to hug Eugene reciprocated the hugs and smiled at them. A genuine smile, he hadn't had one of those in a long time. Eugene could see the light now, he'd been in the darkness for far too long, but the sun was shining on him once again, and his friends were going to be there for him no matter what. The three of them gathered Eugene into a group hug and he felt love radiate from his friends. He felt warm again.


End file.
